Acer today announced the launch of a new Chromebook, although those familiar with the company’s current C7 Chromebook will already be familiar with the new model. Apart from a drop from 4GB of RAM to 2GB, the only difference between the old C7 Chromebook and the new Chromebook C720-2848 is the price. Dropping down from 2GB of RAM also brings the price down to $199, down from the $249 Acer charges for the old 4GB model.

Otherwise specs remain the same: an 11.6-nich 1366 x 768 display, dual-core Intel® Celeron® processor, 16GB SDD, and three USB ports. The old model is still for sale, but now Acer officially has one of the most affordable Chromebooks on the market with its new $199 option. It’s already available on BestBuy and should hit other outlets shortly. expand full story

Google told us during its Google I/O keynote that it would bring Chromebooks to 100 Best Buy stores in the United States in the near future. Today, customers tipped TechCrunch that in-store displays for the Chromebooks finally started popping up in Best Buy retail locations. One interesting aspect of the displays is a rack of CDs loaded with the Chrome browser being offered to customers for free. However, we are not sure how many users this will actually convert. In a blog post on his Google+ account, the customer described the CDs and provided the screenshots above:

One thing I was most surprised about was the free +Google Chrome CDs. The CDs were in really cool plexi-glass cases held together by magnets. The Chrome Expert also gave us the cool idea of using the case as a picture frame after we were done using the CD. I think it is a great idea for Google to use their Chromebook’s placement in Best Buy stores to also spread the goodness about Chrome.

Verizon has still yet to announce a release date for the highly anticipated Galaxy Nexus, but apparently a Best Buy store didn’t get that memo. A user posted the following on the Android Centralforums:

Went to best buy at 9am in olathe kansasgot oneall activatedeverything works finethere was even a post it not that said 12-11

only problem was the best buy computer didn’t have a valid ski, they couldn’t ring it upthe manager looked in the system for like 60 min and confirmed it was available today

ended up having the ppm override the system and selling it to me.in the end. i got oneme and my buddy.

Hit up your local store to see if you can get lucky! Check out the box after the break:

I am a big fan of this phone because of the low, no contract pricing starting at $35/month for unlimited text/data and the relatively untouched Android 2.2 experience. There are Android 2.3 ROMs floating around for the somewhat adventurous, though frankly Virgin should get their act together and update this phone themselves. Even with 2.2, you get voice actions, a very capable GPS and free unlimited 3G tethering if you know what you are doing.

This is also one of the smallest Android devices you can find with a 3.2-inch 320×480 screen and nice physical buttons.expand full story